After a three-week trial, a Barnstable Superior Court jury found South Yarmouth resident Robert B. Vacher guilty of the 2008 murder of 16-year-old Barnstable High School student Jordan Mendes.

According to a press release from Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe, Vacher was found guilty of murder in the first degree in connection with Mendes’ death and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Vacher was also convicted of premeditated first-degree murder, felony murder, extreme atrocity or cruelty, armed robbery, two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and improper disposal of a body.

In December 2008, Mendes’ body was found in a hole approximately 10 feet deep in the woods off Jennifer Lane in Hyannis, and was on fire at the time it was discovered. Police and fire officials were alerted by numerous 911 calls reporting a possible brushfire.

An autopsy conducted on Dec. 18, 2008 by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Boston confirmed that Mendes had been shot once in the torso and stabbed 27 times before his body was dumped in the hole and burned.

O’Keefe said it’s believed Mendes was killed Dec. 15 and his body dumped, with his killers returning the next day to burn the body.

Vacher and two juvenile suspects, Mykel Mendes, Jordan Mendes’ half brother, and Kevin Ribeiro, both 13 at the time of the murder, were charged with the crime roughly a week after Mendes’ death, at which time it was decided that Vacher would be tried as an adult, and Mykel Mendes and Ribeiro would be tried as juveniles.

At a press conference in the days after the discovery of Mendes’ body, O’Keefe and Barnstable Police Chief Paul MacDonald said the motive for Mendes’ murder was robbery. O’Keefe said BPD and State Police investigators found that Vacher, Mykel Mendes, and Ribeiro stole more than $10,000 from Mendes and used the money to purchase a silver BMW automobile the next morning.

Asked why Jordan Mendes would have been carrying such a large sum of money, O’Keefe alluded to Mendes’ alleged reputation as a local drug dealer.

“Evidence would seem to suggest that he [was] a significant drug dealer and the money would be used to purchase drugs,” said O’Keefe at the time.

Mendes was the son of Manuel Mendes, who is now serving time in federal prison for operating a cocaine ring while serving a 10-year sentence in the Plymouth County Correctional Facility for a previous drug conviction.

While Mendes’ legal issues were not a secret to some, fellow students at Barnstable High School remembered him fondly, recalling his boisterous sense of humor and welcoming smile.

As a youngster Mendes played football for the Silver Bullets and Barnstable Middle School. The week before his death he attended Challenge Day at Barnstable High School, a daylong esteem-building event, which one close friend said was part of his attempt to change his life.

“This is a tragic case given the age of the defendant,” O’Keefe said in his statement. “However, this level of violence must be answered by the community and it has been by this jury. This is an object lesson particularly for the young people about where involvement with drugs can lead.”